


Soul Rain

by akiko



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Desert AU, Dubious Science, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-16 23:40:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11839455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akiko/pseuds/akiko
Summary: In the distance (or maybe it was actually closer?), he could just see the silhouette of either a three-headed Monster, or three separate beings.If it was a FIGHT they wanted, then the two of them needed to run.





	Soul Rain

**Author's Note:**

> this au is heavily based on a certain part of the one piece alabasta arc. so if you know what i'm talking about, keep it on the hush-hush, for now. ;'D
> 
> also i looked this over a few times, but this is still unbeta'd by anyone else, so forgive me for any mistakes (and please point them out to me so i can correct it, thanks!)
> 
> (also also the number of chapters is tentative, for now!)

The rain beat heavily on them; thick enough that there was barely anything visible, even if it wasn’t nighttime. Even with his eyes lit up, it was still pretty pointless. He could only see a couple feet in front of him, and even then everything looked a bit hazy. Even their SOULs had stopped oddly shining a few moments ago, as if they decided that it was, indeed, a hopeless case and bailed early.

But he would persevere. Mettaton kept the thin, rain-soaked cloak over him and Blooky, trying to at least shield them from the cold. They were both drenched, so protecting themselves from the rain was a lost cause.

It was so cold. And dark.

“Shh,” he whispered, tense. In the distance (or maybe it was actually closer?), he could just see the silhouette of either a three-headed Monster, or three separate beings.

If it was a FIGHT they wanted, then the two of them needed to run. Neither of them were exactly waterproof, but their thick “skin” was sufficient enough to keep their insides from frying. Still, their SOULs weren’t in that great a shape for this.

He kept still, silent. Hoping that whoever they were would just by-pass them.

But apparently Lady Luck wasn’t on his side.

One of the figures was approaching, and fast - even through the drumming of the rain, he could hear clumps of wet sand being misplaced as the figure rushed towards them.

Well, sh- shoot.

Shifting his grip on the cloak to only one hand, he used the other to scoop up his cousin’s body, then stood up, ready to -

“EXCUSE ME!”

\- shit.

Mettaton froze, pink-lit eyes narrowed at the Monster before him. From what he could make out, it looked like a Skeleton Monster. They had big and somehow bright eye sockets, a wide toothy grin, and wore a cloak and some sort of headcloth. They looked ready for the rain, unlike Mettaton and Blooky.

“HELLO THERE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? IT’S NOT SAFE OUT HERE!”

So it wasn’t a FIGHT they wanted, then. His gaze flickered towards the other two approaching figures, both mostly hidden under cloaks as well, save for their giant animal-like skeleton heads. Or maybe they were some sort of helmet; it was hard to tell.

He directed his gaze back to the Skeleton before him, clutching his cousin tightly against his chestplate.

“We were just looking for shelter,” he said, voice raised slightly to be heard over the rain. He smiled ruefully at the Skeleton. “The rain caught us unexpectedly.”

“GOOD GRIEF! WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME WITH US, THEN? YOU COULD STAY WITH US FOR A WHILE UNTIL THE RAIN STOPS. WE HAVE TOWELS AND FOOD.”

He considered this for a moment. The offer sounded too good to be true. His eyes scanned the Skeleton up and down, cautiously watching for any sign that they were going to get dusted.

That cloak definitely gave off alarm bells, though.

“OR, HERE.” _Fwoosh_ , and the Skeleton had taken his cloak off, gently wrapping it around him and his cousin. He didn’t move, too shocked by the gesture to even protest. “YOU COULD WEAR THIS INSTEAD! IT’S RAIN-RESISTANT, SO YOU TWO SHOULD BE OKAY IF YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE. AT LEAST LET US ESCORT YOU THERE.”

He stared at the Skeleton, mouth agape.

Under the cloak, he was wearing a simple tunic and trousers; they looked thick enough to protect him from the cold, but probably not from the rain.

Mettaton touched the edge of the cloak, then glanced down at the immobile body of his cousin still cradled in his arm.

He looked at the Skeleton, and smiled, “Towels and food sounds good.”

 

* * *

 

The palace was a surprise.

Apparently, he and Blooky had stopped just near the gates of the kingdom of Ossis. After introducing themselves (the Skeleton’s name was Papyrus, and the other two were Shajaea and Muthabara), they quickly ran for shelter. None of them had said much else after that.

The shelter Papyrus meant was, apparently, the palace.

Where, _apparently_ , Papyrus was living in. Because he was the Sultan. Apparently.

Interesting.

“ARE EITHER OF YOU HURT?” Papyrus - _the Sultan_ \- asked, eyes still somehow bright while being devoid of eyelights.

“Well… not exactly.” Mettaton looked down at his still unconscious cousin. He’d switched to carrying them bridal-style once they had all taken off towards the palace. “We’re not exactly waterproof - though we are _somewhat_ protected from wet substances. But my cousin… they ran out of battery just after the rain started.”

He took a deep, shaky breath. It had been… quite unexpected; he’d been sure to have them both charged up for the journey. He supposed he didn’t check well enough.

“I think they got quite a shock from being drenched with so much water so quickly. I was lucky enough to have my cloak on me, but Bl- Napstablook, on the other hand, well…”

His hands clenched, bunching the fabric around his cousin. He’d wrapped Papyrus’ cloak around their body after they’d entered the palace. The less puddles they left behind, the better.

“If you have an outlet somewhere that we could plug them into, it would be much appreciated.”

“NOT TO WORRY! WE HAVE LOTS OF OUTLETS HERE! NYEHEHE! BUT -” Papyrus seemed to grin even wider, “- I HAVE AN EVEN BETTER IDEA! MY BROTHER COULD TAKE A LOOK AT THEM! HE’S A SCIENTIST!”

Well, now. It seemed Lady Luck was on his side, after all.

Mettaton beamed, chuckling. “Well, aren’t we lucky, then.”

In a few moments, they reach a metal door with a shiny, metallic sign that said “ROYAL VIZIER”; underneath it, something was written in what looked to be permanent marker: “accepts vizier-tors.” Mettaton stared, unsure what to make of it.

Papyrus pressed the button next to the door and with a _SWOOSH_  it slid apart. The room was a mess. Papers (documents?) were littered all over the floor, as if allergic to the one desk in the room. Said desk had a monitor and a keyboard situated on its surface. And sitting behind it was, presumably, Papyrus’ brother.

This Skeleton was much shorter, and somehow had an even bigger (though more relaxed-looking) grin on his face than Papyrus. He stared at them, barely looking perturbed by the two drenched robots in his... office.

Did Papyrus do this often?

“SANS! THEY NEED YOUR HELP!”

Papyrus’ brother - Sans - took a bite off his burger. “what’s up, paps?”

“I FOUND THEM WHILE I WAS MAKING MY ROUNDS.” Papyrus made a beeline for the back of the room, towards some shelves and chests of drawers (also metal). He started rifling through them. “THEY WERE CAUGHT IN THE RAIN, AND NAPSTABLOOK HAD RUN OUT OF BATTERY AND COLLAPSED! LUCKILY, METTATON IS STILL OKAY. HE TOLD TELL ME WHAT HAD HAPPENED.”

At that, Papyrus paused his search for a moment to look at Mettaton with a smile, “YOU CAN PLUG THEM IN ANYWHERE, METTATON! TAKE YOUR PICK!” and then went back to his search.

Sans didn't take his eyes off the two of them, still munching on his burger. Mettaton carefully padded into the room, making sure not to step or drip on any of the papers. Even though they were on the floor, they might be important. Honestly, they should be _on the desk_ if they were important! But it wasn’t his place to scold the Skeleton.

“take a seat,” Sans gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. “so, what’s the problem?”

“My cousin ran out of battery just as the rain started,” he said, gently sitting down Blooky’s body on one of the chairs. He looked around the room, spotting an outlet conveniently behind the chair. He gestured to it, smiling politely at Sans, “May I?”

The shorter Skeleton nodded, setting his burger down and getting up. Sans walked around his desk and stood in front of Blooky, eyeing them up and down. Possibly looking for visible damages.

Mettaton carefully opened Blooky’s back panel, uncoiling the cord underneath, and plugging them in. One of the indicators on their chest lit up. He let out a relieved sigh.

“they don't look like they have anything outwardly wrong with them, at least," Sans noted, before turning to him. "so, your name’s mettaton?”

Mettaton blinked at Sans. “Oh, where are my manners?” he chuckled to himself, then stood and extended a hand towards the Skeleton. “Why, yes, darling, my name is Mettaton. Pleasure to meet you. And this is my cousin, Napstablook. We’re a nomadic troupe.”

Sans shook his hand -

_PPPPPPBBBBBBBBBBBT._

Mettaton jumped, and took his hand away. Sans chuckled, holding up his hand. A small pinkish bag of sorts was tied to it. “the ol’ whoopie cushion-in-the-hand trick. never gets old.”

Mettaton huffed, allowing Sans a small, polite laugh. He tried to ignore slight sizzling noise coming from his face. Sans, thankfully, didn’t comment on his (very visible) blush.

“so you guys are performers?”

“Yes,” he nodded, glad to get back on track. “We usually perform in small towns, and take extra care not to get into the borders of any of the kingdoms. Though I suppose we didn’t do a good job of that tonight.”

“heh. yeah, no kidding.”

“We were on our way to Otium, but, as you can see, the rain took us by surprise.”

“yeah, the rain is pretty unexpected here. really needs to tone it _downpour_ a bit.”

Mettaton stared at him, considering. “Yes, it does need to _rain_ it in just a bit.”

Sans choked, startled into a laugh. His shoulders shook as he grinned up at Mettaton.

The bot could see this strange twinkle in his eye. He didn't know why, but he sensed a sort of... foreboding.

“SANS! ARE YOU INFECTING OUR GUEST WITH YOUR HEINOUS PUNS?” Papyrus bounds towards them, glaring at brother.

"nah, pap, just chat _tin_ with our guest here," Sans lightly tapped on Napstablook's metal shoulder. "wouldn't want him to feel like we're giving them a  _cold_ shoulder."

"SANS!" Papyrus sounded absolutely _scandalized_ , and he turned to Mettaton with an apologetic expression, "I APOLOGIZE FOR MY BROTHER'S TERRIBLE SENSE OF HUMOR, METTATON!" A sparkle came into his eyes, “YOU MENTIONED YOU PERFORM, THOUGH? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU AND YOUR COUSIN DO, IF I MAY BE SO BOLD? AND HERE, YOU CAN DRY YOURSELF OFF WITH THESE TOWELS. DON’T WORRY, CONTRARY TO THE STATE OF THIS ROOM, THEY'RE QUITE CLEAN.”

“Oh, thank you, Your Majesty. You're too kind.”

He gingerly took the towel in his hands. He wasn’t sure he wanted to rub this all over his body, but he didn’t want to offend the Sultan. He put it up to his nose, taking a quick, cautious sniff. It seemed alright. He dabbed carefully at his face, wiping away the condensation left behind from the heat of his blush earlier.

“Well, I dance and Napstablook makes the music. We’re quite a pair,” he declares proudly. If there was any one thing he would always make sure his cousin knew they were good at, it was their music.

Papyrus had carefully draped the other (supposedly clean) towel around Napstablook’s shoulders. He turned back to Mettaton - wait, were those actual stars in his eyes or was he seeing things?

“WOWIE! THAT’S AMAZING! SANS, DO WE HAVE ANY ROOM FOR ANOTHER PERFORMANCE?”

“i think so.”

“BRILLIANT! METTATON!” Papyrus definitely looked like he had stars in his eyes.

Mettaton managed a small, amused smile. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO PERFORM FOR US AT THE RAIN FESTIVAL?”

“The… Rain Festival?” He blinked. He looked between the two brothers, brows furrowed in confusion.

“it’s a biannual thing we do to celebrate the soul rain. lasts for a week. sometimes longer if everyone’s really into it.”

“IT’S IN THREE DAYS! WILL YOU PLEASE PERFORM?” Papyrus was begging now, hands clasped in front of him as he stared literally starry-eyed at Mettaton.

Well, how could he say no to that face?

“I could never let down a fan,” he chuckled. “Alright, I’ll do it. Thank you for this opportunity, Your Majesty.”

“NYEHEHE!” Papyrus threw his hands up into the air. Mettaton hid a chuckle behind his hand. For a Sultan, Papyrus was adorable. “A NOMADIC TROUPE! PERFORMING IN OUR FESTIVAL! SANS, THIS IS BRILLIANT!”

“sure is, paps.”

“OH WAIT! METTATON, YOU CAN SLEEP HERE IN THE PALACE, IF YOU WANT.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly -” Mettaton started to protest, but then Papyrus struck a pose; one hand on his hip and the other on his chest. If he had a cape, it would be billowing behind him. It was, undoubtedly, a very good pose. Dashing and confident. Quite fitting for a Sultan.

“FEAR NOT, IT IS QUITE ALRIGHT! I SHALL ALLOW IT! I AM THE SULTAN, AFTER ALL! NYEHEHE!”

Mettaton huffed a small laugh, smiling. “Well, if His Majesty allows it, then I don’t see why not.”

“NYEHEHE! YOU WON'T REGRET IT, I ASSURE YOU! I SHALL GO AND INFORM THE GUARDS! THIS FESTIVAL IS GOING TO BE THE BEST ONE YET!” And with that, Papyrus rushed out of the room.

Mettaton looked to Sans, bemused. “Do you not have performers like us often?”

Sans shrugged, “there aren’t many of you in the business, i think. we don’t get them a lot, but paps always gets extra excited when we do.” The Skeleton turned his attention back to Napstablook, “your cousin doesn’t look like they have anything else that needs fixing. at least, nothing that doesn’t need me to look at a full schematic or manual.”

Mettaton nodded, silently playing with Blooky’s synthetic hair. Papyrus’ excitement over the festival had momentarily distracted him from looking over his cousin, so Blooky’s hair was still dripping wet.

He took hold of the towel draped around their shoulders and carefully set it on their head, pressing it downwards in a repetitive motion. He never really had to dry anyone’s hair before, but he was pretty sure this was how it was done.

“want some help?”

He looked up. Sans gestured to the towel.

He glanced at Sans’ shiny, hairless skull, but nodded. He figured that, since Sans lived in a kingdom of rain, he had more knowledge of how to dry things.

“By all means, Your Majesty,” he stepped aside with a flourish.

“just call me sans,” the Skeleton grinned at him, taking Mettaton’s place behind Blooky and proceeding to gently ruffle the towel over their head.

“But you’re the Sultan’s brother! That would be disrespectful!”

Sans chuckled. “eh. i prefer not to take on the title. ‘sides, everyone knows me by sans, anyway.”

“Hmm. Well, alright, if you insist... Sans.”

Sans didn’t say much more after that, so Mettaton took the opportunity to rub a dry corner of his own towel over cousin’s body. They seemed to be charging well. Still unconscious, but that wasn’t unusual for them.

“I know His Majesty said we could stay - at least, until the end of the Festival - but would it be alright if Napstablook stayed here? I wouldn’t want to disconnect him from charging so soon.”

“sure thing, mettaton.”

And with that, they both fell into a comfortable silence, as they continued drying off the unconscious robot.

 

* * *

 

“METTATON! BROTHER!”

“hey, bro,” Sans greeted before taking another bite of his burger.

Mettaton stood from his chair and gave a quick bow. “Your Majesty."

“METTATON, YOUR ROOM HAS BEEN PREPARED! I ASSURE YOU, IT IS VERY GREAT! LIKE ME!” Papyrus extended a hand, which Mettaton graciously took. But before they stepped outside, Mettaton turned to Sans, who was watching them with a lazy grin.

“Thank you very much for tonight, Sans. I apologize for hindering your work.”

“nah,” Sans waved him off, and took another bite. Well, that was a dismissal if it was any. He let Papyrus lead him to his room, which was just a floor up from Sans' office.

“WELCOME TO YOUR ROOM, METTATON!” With a flourish, Papyrus opened the door, proudly spreading an arm towards the room.

Mettaton gasped. It was _magnificent_. Beige walls with ornate gold patterns and a vent that, he presumed, kept the room nice and warm. And the biggest thing inside it was what looked to be a queen-sized bed, situated at the opposite end of the room.

“Oh my, Your Majesty, this is too much.”

“NONSENSE! NOTHING IS TOO MUCH FOR GUESTS! FEEL FREE TO MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME!”

Tentatively, Mettaton stepped inside, eyes still roaming around what was now his temporary bedroom. Though it was bare, save for the bed, a dresser, a mirror, and a couch, the bed was more than enough to make the room look homey and comfortable. He couldn’t wait to lie down in it.

“OH NO, I FORGOT TO ASK IF ROBOTS SLEEP! I AM SO SORRY, METTATON!”

“No, no, no, it’s alright, Your Majesty!” Mettaton whirled around to face Papyrus, hands up in an attempt to appease the worried Skeleton. “We do sleep, in a sense. And I do like being comfortable when that happens. Thank you.”

“OH! WELL… OF COURSE! NYEHEHE! ONLY THE BEST FOR MY GUESTS!” Papyrus struck another pose, making Mettaton chuckle again. He was just too cute!

“WELL, I BETTER LEAVE YOU TO REST NOW! YOU HAD QUITE THE NIGHT, AFTER ALL! GOODNIGHT, METTATON!” Papyrus waved, and he started walking to the door.

Mettaton waved back, still smiling, “Goodnight, Your Majesty.”

Papyrus flashed him a grin, before closing the door behind him.

Mettaton looked around the room once more, and walked up to a wall, tracing the pattern of what, upon closer inspection, looked to be bones. He trailed a hand along the wall, following it up to the mirror, the back of which he took a peek at, before quickly looking himself over in the glass. He'd need to thoroughly comb his hair tomorrow.

Then he looked inside the drawers. Empty.

He went over to the couch and lifted up the cushions, one by one. After making sure there was nothing underneath them, he went over to the bed, walking around it as he carefully eyed the walls and ceiling. The bed had posts around it, where thick drapes were just waiting to be pulled and drawn around the bed. So fancy and mysterious. He climbed up the posts to check the drapes, just in case, before pulling them down and checking them over again.

Satisfied, he sat himself down on the edge of the bed, which was as pleasantly soft as it looked, and scanned his eyes around the room once more.

_“All clear,”_ Alphys said into his ear.

He nodded, and fell back onto the bed. Immediately, he seemed to sink into it, and he sighed, blissful. He could definitely get used to sleeping here for two weeks.

He rolled onto his side, careful to keeping his voice low, just in case. “That went easier than I expected.”

_“There was a d-d-distinct lack of umbrellas, though. Not like in an-anime, at all!”_ Alphys sighed, the sound crackling in his ear. He winced.

“Still, everything’s going better than planned. I didn’t think they’d let me stay in the palace,” he smiled at the memory of the Sultan. So nice and generous. And so, so naive. “And I get a _huuuge_ bed out of it too.”

_“Y-yeah, but don’t stay in it t-t-too long, Mettaton!”_

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, _mom_. I know my orders.”

_“Okay, g-good.”_ There was silence on the other line, but it didn’t sound like Alphys had cut off the connection yet. Finally, she said, in a lower, gentler tone, _“Mettaton… Stay safe, o-o-okay?”_

Mettaton smiled at that, small but sincere, and closed his eyes. “I will. Stay safe, Alphys.”

_“Goodnight, Mettaton.”_

“Goodnight, Alphys.”

_Click_ , and the connection went silent. Mettaton buried his face into the covers, and powered himself down for the night.

He had so much work to do.


End file.
